A Chess genius. A happy family man.

It is an almost senseless challenge to describe GM Vladimir Kramnik in only a few lines. His personality
has too many facets; his areas of interests are too diverse.
What is clear is that Vladimir Kramnik is not solely fixated on chess. At 38, he enjoys a peaceful life
in Paris with his wife and two children keeping intact the same ambition of those younger years as
World Champion.

Currently rated over 2800, Kramnik is still a serious contender to the WCC title.

Current affairs interest him just as intensively as numerous sport and cultural activities, several
of which he regularly engages in. The cosmopolitan would love to enjoy life ever more intensively, but
his drive to succeed holds this inclination within limits. What is it that marks out the world champion
in him even though he doesn't focus exclusively on chess?

GM Vladimir Kramnik, World Chess Champion 2000-2007

Kramnik considers chess as the art of carrying out a long-term plan.

People close to Kramnik, who presumably works less intensively for chess than most of his competitors,
often claim that this has something to do with his creative nature and strategic gifts. Kramnik considers
chess less as a sport and more as the art of carrying out a long-term plan. The harmonious interplay
of his pieces and the beauty of his game are already legendary. He is always searching for creative
and new solutions, particularly when he is playing.

In many games, they say, he sees things that no computer can calculate and no other grandmasters could
discover. The ingenious ideas would come to him quite easily, providing him with moments of pure joy.

The artistic vein in the 34-year-old Muscovite must have been given to him in his cradle. His father
Boris is a well-known sculptor; his mother Irina a music teacher. That this assumption is not far off
the mark is evidenced by his response to the question, "What would you like to do after the end
of your career?" The classical music aficionado and avid reader answered, "Start a family
- and learn to play the piano." No wonder that journalists all over the world have dubbed Kramnik
an "artist" or "painter".

Kramnik started to play chess at the age of five. At 12, his enormous talent was recognized in Moscow
and encouraged. As a teenager, Kramnik got better and better
– at only 16, he won the U18 World Championship.

The list of his victories is long. He has already finished all major tournaments in the world as the
victor. And he holds a record which made sporting history:
Kramnik was unbeaten at the highest level in 86 classical games over 18 months up to July 2000.

Kramnik sharing his experience with kids in Bahrain.

The road to the World Championship title

Thursday, November 2, 2000, London. Vladimir Kramnik became the 14th World Chess Champion
with a brilliant 8.5-6.5 result against Garry Kasparov, who could not win a single game. After Garry
Kasparov had congratulated him, the greatest dream of his life became true: World Chess Champion. Exulting,
Kramnik threw his arms up into the air in triumph. The audience's applause and the subsequent tumult
will not be forgotten.

It was a historic moment in the history of chess: Kramnik had not only won the lion’s share of
the two-million dollar prize money; his victory had ended Kasparov's 15-year-long reign on the chess
throne.

After this historic triumph, Kramnik notched up several major victories at prestigious tournaments such
as Dortmund, Linares, Leon and Monaco.

Kramnik's games against Kasparov were always focus of great media attraction

The first challenge to this title.

In 2004, he faced off in another World Championship, this time in Switzerland: Kramnik successfully
defended his title against the official challenger, Hungarian super grandmaster Péter Lékó.
In a complex strategic battle, he pulled off a supreme coup, winning in the 14th game – the last
in the match – with a 7:7 tie. Traditionally, the reigning World Champion has to be beaten outright
based on points – the challenger Lékó came heart-wrenchingly close to doing so.

Kramnik retained his title in a hard fought match against Leko

2005 was a year of ups and downs for the World Champion. Kramnik was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis,
entered intense medical treatment, and disappeared from
the tournament hubbub for six months. The break seemed to rejuvenate the Russian – at his comeback
in the 2006 Chess Olympiad in Turin, he had the best individual score of all 1,000 participants.

The World Chess Title Unification Championship

In October 2006, Kramnik faced the biggest challenge: the unification match that would decide who the
next unique, absolute World Champion would be.

Kramnik - Topalov match in Elista, opening ceremony

In a historic fight against all sort of adversities, Kramnik defeated Topalov to become the first unified
World Champion after 1993, the one and only official
World Chess Champion. His win in Elista was one of the most impressive victories in all of sports
history.

Kramnik's message to all his fans:

My team and I would like to thank all my fans for their enormous support during such a difficult battle.
Your daily messages were a tremendous experience, giving
me additional confidence especially in difficult moments. You, my most valuable fans, contributed very much
to my success becoming the unified World Chess Champion.Vladimir Kramnik, Elista, 14 October 2006

Kramnik gets his WC trophy from the FIDE President

The Wedding!

After his remarkable victory in Elista, Kramnik took some well deserved time to improve his private
life. On 30.12.2006 he got married in Paris to Marie-Laure, a French journalist who works for
the important newspaper Le Figaro. A few weeks later, on 04.02.2007 he invited his most trusted friends
to a private ceremony held at the orthodox church of Paris.

Among the invitees, to the right, GM Boris Spassky, former World Champion

During 2007 Kramnik has kept very active in the World Chess scene. He has played in many events, like
Wijk aan Zee, Monaco, matches against Leko and Aronian and Dortmund.

Kramnik is also very good giving lectures and commentaries

35th Dortmund International Tournament 2007

World Champion Vladimir Kramnik was the undisputed winner of the super strong 2007 edition of the annual
Dortmund Festival. Kramnik finished with 5/7, undefeated. His victories were against Gelfand, Naitditsch
and Carlsen.

Left to right Alekseev (3rd place), Leko (second) and Kramnik (big winner)

Anand becomes the new World Champion in México City 2007

In September 2007 Kramnik defended his title fighting bravely against 7 very strong challengers. It
was a closed tournament, a double round robin event where Kramnik
met Anand, Aronian, Leko, Gelfand, Grischuk, Svidler and Morozevich. Kramnik missed several wins in
the first half of the tournament, then lost a critical game
against Morozevich early in the second half. At the end of the event Kramnik played brilliantly defeating
Leko and Aronian, but it was already too late, since Anand had accumulated many points so far.

At the very end Anand was first and Kramnik second, not enough to retain his title.

October 2008: The match against Anand

Following the regulations from the Mexico World Championship, Kramnik challenged Anand in a match
to regain his title of World Champion. The match took place from October 14th-31 in the city of Bonn,
Germany.

The spectacular playing hall in Bonn

Anand defended his title with a 6,5:4,5 victory. Vladimir fought very hard, he even won the penultimate
game, adding extra tension to the match, but at the end Anand showed his best preparation to win the
match.

Year 2009 events. Kramnik is back!

Kramnik gave the first clear indication that he was back! He played excellent chess at the Blindfold
competition,
sharing first place his two of the hottest players at the time, Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian. In
the rapid competition he was only half a point below the first place.

A few months later, in July, Kramnik won with authority the strong Classical Event in Dortmund, FIDE
Cat XX, unbeaten, one full point ahead of the field.

The best result of the year for him was, however, the Tal Memorial Cat XXI, held in Moscow in November.
Kramnik took clear first place, among a line-up full
of super grandmasters, where nobody was missing. Ivanchuk and Carlsen shared second whike Aronian and
Anand shared fourth.

To close up year 2009, Kramnik was second in the strong London Classical, where he lost a single game
and won many.

A sensational win in the Final Masters of the Grand
Slam circuit for 2010

It happened in Bilbao, Spain, during October. His opponents were Carlsen, Anand and Shirov. Kramnik
took clear first with 4 out of 6, after beating Carlsen and Shirov, drawing all his remaining games.

Previously, Kramnik had played very well in Wijk aan Zee, where he was 2-3 behind Carlsen, ahead of
Anand, Nakamura, Ivanchuk, Karjakin and many others.

Outstanding results in 2011

Kramnik went all the way to the semifinals of the World Champìonship cycle. Unfortunately, there he
lost to Grischuk in the blitz tiebreaks, after their matches at both classical and rapid time formats
had finished in a tie.

In July 2011 Kramnik was superb once again in Dortmund, Category 20 (2731), taking clear first with
7/10,
a rating performance of 2868. In November he also won Hoogeveen, Category 20 (2732) with 4.5/6, unbeaten,
this time an ever higher rating performance of 2903.

Up next came London, starting on December 3rd,
where he made his best performance of the year by winning the stronger Category 20 event (2748) with
6/8, unbeaten, rising his rating performance to 2932 and more importantly ahead of his main adversaries,
Magnus Carlsen, Wiswanathan Anand and Levon Aronian.

Modest results in 2012

Kramnik was not particulary impressive during the first half of 2012, where he was 6th at both the Tal
Memorial in Moscow and the Dortmund Classical in Germany.

He played better at the Olympiad in Istanbul, with nice wins against Aronian and Naiditsch, to finish
up the year with a very good performance
at the super strong 4th London Classic, Category 21 (2751) with 6/8, unbeaten, where he was second to
Magnus Carlsen. His powerful games in this event showed that he was ready for more in the months to
come.

The candidates tournament in London 2013

Kramnik came very close to reach the final match for the World Championship once again. At the Candidates
Tournament in London he tied for first with Magnus Carlsen at 8.5/14. It was a great
event, one of the strongest in history, reaching the 22nd Category with an average rating of 2786. Kramnik
made a superb 2858 performance, missing the first place by the tiebreak regulations.

A first place would have given him the opportunity to challenge Anand to regain his World Title. It
would have been exciting!

A few months later, in July, Kramnik played another excellent tournament in Dortmund, a Category 19
(2709) where he scored 6.5/9, 2866 performance, but again it was only good for a second place, this
after Adams.

A great victory at the World Cup

The FIDE World Cup is a knockout, starting with 128 players, with two games (90 min for 40 moves + 30
min for the rest, with 30 seconds increment) between pairs of players. The tiebreaks consist of two
rapid games (25 min + 10 sec), then two accelerated games (10 min + 10 sec), and finally an Armageddon.
The winner and the runner-up of the World Cup 2013 will qualify for the Candidates Tournament of the
next World Championship cycle.

Vladimir Kramnik won his final match against Dmitri Andreikin to take clear first at the super strong World Cup held in Norway from August 10th to September 3rd.